Read Online Daddy Long Legs by Vernon W. Baumann - Free Book Online
Authors: Vernon W. Baumann
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international pariah to a stellar example of political settlement, unmatched in history. Unmatched in the world today. Soon the events in South Africa would inspire similar settlements elsewhere. But none would have the impact and lasting legacy of the amazing events in a country at the southern tip of Africa.
Almost six years after the disappearance of Ryan Devlin, South Africa’s first truly democratic elections were held on the 27 th of April, 1994. These were historic times indeed. And we cannot blame anybody that a series of atrocities at the hand of a lone killer would somehow get lost in all the grand historical currents that swept South Africa in those years.
But for some, of course, Daddy Long Legs would never be forgotten. People like Roedolf Coetzee, father of the killer’s second victim, and husband of the late Yvette Coetzee who had committed suicide soon after the discovery of her boy’s violated body. Roedolf never remarried and is the last remaining member of his family. On hot summer evenings, he would sit on the stoep of his deserted house and dream of a time before a merciless killer took his loved ones. Yes. For some, like Johannes Boonzaayer, the cost of Daddy Long Legs is an ever mounting account. Even now, almost twenty years after the death of his son, the erstwhile doctor can still be found outside the dens and hovels of Steynbrug, begging loose change. And of course, although he never speaks of it, the events of an afternoon in ‘88 will forever remain with Kyle Devlin. The world had forgotten. But for some there could never be amnesia.
A mere two weeks before South Africa’s historic first genuine democratic elections in 1994, detective James Burke was killed in a head-on collision on a dark stretch of the N2 highway. With his death, the person with the most intimate grasp of the killer – and the person most likely ever to solve the murders – passed into the next world. It seemed as if the Daddy Long Legs murders would never be solved.
Meanwhile, at the exact same time as detective Burke’s death, a young boy in the southern Johannesburg suburb of Turffontein was experiencing his first painful and embarrassing sexual encounter. His name was Wayne Human.
Over time, Daddy Long Legs, like so many other twisted characters of history, gained a kind of a cult following. In the late 90’s, a group of disaffected and rebellious youths began dabbling in Satanism. More than a few ‘satanic’ rituals were performed on sites where Daddy Long Legs victims had been dumped. Like so many similar teenage endeavours, the cult was never really authentic. And was ultimately more concerned with making anti-establishment statements than conducting actual forays into the world of the occult. That they chose the notorious Hope killer as their inspiration was an indication, however, of how deeply ingrained the legend had become. At around the same time, a group of Cape Town musicians named their band Daddy Long Legs. They had a minor hit with ‘Your Love is Murder’ but broke up soon afterwards when it was discovered the drummer was sleeping with the other members’ girlfriends. Although he was gone, it appeared as if Daddy Long Legs was here to stay.
About a year and a half after the death of Ryan Devlin – the killer’s last victim – a few boys, playing on the southern outskirts of town, discovered what appeared to be the skeletal remains of a dismembered child. That the remains were those of a child was easy enough to confirm due to the size of the skeletal bones. The rest was slightly more difficult. The skeleton was crudely dismembered and some major components were missing, not least of all, the skull. The remains were obviously in an advanced state of decomposition and, due to the relatively new and unsophisticated science of DNA analysis at the time, it was quite some time before it was determined that the bones belonged to more than one child. Some of the skeletal remains were (eventually)
Almost six years after the disappearance of Ryan Devlin, South Africa’s first truly democratic elections were held on the 27 th of April, 1994. These were historic times indeed. And we cannot blame anybody that a series of atrocities at the hand of a lone killer would somehow get lost in all the grand historical currents that swept South Africa in those years.
But for some, of course, Daddy Long Legs would never be forgotten. People like Roedolf Coetzee, father of the killer’s second victim, and husband of the late Yvette Coetzee who had committed suicide soon after the discovery of her boy’s violated body. Roedolf never remarried and is the last remaining member of his family. On hot summer evenings, he would sit on the stoep of his deserted house and dream of a time before a merciless killer took his loved ones. Yes. For some, like Johannes Boonzaayer, the cost of Daddy Long Legs is an ever mounting account. Even now, almost twenty years after the death of his son, the erstwhile doctor can still be found outside the dens and hovels of Steynbrug, begging loose change. And of course, although he never speaks of it, the events of an afternoon in ‘88 will forever remain with Kyle Devlin. The world had forgotten. But for some there could never be amnesia.
A mere two weeks before South Africa’s historic first genuine democratic elections in 1994, detective James Burke was killed in a head-on collision on a dark stretch of the N2 highway. With his death, the person with the most intimate grasp of the killer – and the person most likely ever to solve the murders – passed into the next world. It seemed as if the Daddy Long Legs murders would never be solved.
Meanwhile, at the exact same time as detective Burke’s death, a young boy in the southern Johannesburg suburb of Turffontein was experiencing his first painful and embarrassing sexual encounter. His name was Wayne Human.
Over time, Daddy Long Legs, like so many other twisted characters of history, gained a kind of a cult following. In the late 90’s, a group of disaffected and rebellious youths began dabbling in Satanism. More than a few ‘satanic’ rituals were performed on sites where Daddy Long Legs victims had been dumped. Like so many similar teenage endeavours, the cult was never really authentic. And was ultimately more concerned with making anti-establishment statements than conducting actual forays into the world of the occult. That they chose the notorious Hope killer as their inspiration was an indication, however, of how deeply ingrained the legend had become. At around the same time, a group of Cape Town musicians named their band Daddy Long Legs. They had a minor hit with ‘Your Love is Murder’ but broke up soon afterwards when it was discovered the drummer was sleeping with the other members’ girlfriends. Although he was gone, it appeared as if Daddy Long Legs was here to stay.
About a year and a half after the death of Ryan Devlin – the killer’s last victim – a few boys, playing on the southern outskirts of town, discovered what appeared to be the skeletal remains of a dismembered child. That the remains were those of a child was easy enough to confirm due to the size of the skeletal bones. The rest was slightly more difficult. The skeleton was crudely dismembered and some major components were missing, not least of all, the skull. The remains were obviously in an advanced state of decomposition and, due to the relatively new and unsophisticated science of DNA analysis at the time, it was quite some time before it was determined that the bones belonged to more than one child. Some of the skeletal remains were (eventually)
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